A “Chinese Language Program”, the origin of the present Northwest University School of Arts, was set up in Shaanxi Imperial College in  1902. The School of Arts was formerly established under National Northwest University in 1923. The Chinese Language Department, under the School of Arts and Science, was set up in Northwest United University in 1937. The School of Arts became one of the major schools  in 1939 when Northwest United University was renamed as National Northwest University . In 1949, during the reorganization of schools and departments in institutions of higher learning, the School of Arts was renamed as the Department of Chinese Language and Literature. In 1994, the School of Arts, Fine Arts and Mass Media Communication was established. In 2001, the School of Arts was re-inaugurated.

The School of Arts consists of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, the Department of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, and the Department of Radio, Film and Television. Currently, it offers 3 undergraduate programs, namely Chinese Linguistics and Literature, Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, as well as Drama and Movie Literature. The Chinese Language Center teaches all the general Chinese Language and Literature courses for the whole university. The current student enrollment amounts to 1000. The School is characterized by its integration of traditional elements with modern trends, as well as its complementary treatment of theory and practice.

The Chinese Language and Literature program was honored as an “on-campus base for talents training” in 2000, and as a “famous program” by the Shaanxi Provincial Government in 2003. This program was placed on the list of provincial construction programs during the third phase of the “211 Project” in 2007. The Chinese Language and Literature program was selected as a “program of distinction” by the Ministry of Education in 2009.

The School now has 1 PhD program in Chinese Language and Literature and 1 PhD program in the History of Chinese Aesthetics. The former belongs to the first level discipline. The School has 3 Master’s programs in the second level disciplines of Aesthetics, Filmology, and the Study of Religion, as well as offering 1 professional Master’s program in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and 1 post-doctoral program in Chinese Language and Literature.

The discipline of Ancient Chinese Literature has frequently been commended for its outstanding performance, including being approved as a Shaanxi Provincial Key Discipline in 1988, being honored as an “Excellent Group” in Shaanxi Humanities and Social Sciences Disciplines Construction in 2004, receiving the Excellent Teaching Achievements Award in 2004, and being selected to be one of the “Provincial Teams of Outstanding Teachers” in 2008.

In 2009, the Research Center of Han-Tang Culture and Shaanxi Literature Development was designated as a key research base on Philosophy and General Social Sciences. Meanwhile, the Research on the Evolution of Shaanxi Literature has been approved as a “discipline of distinction” out of all the institutions of higher learning in Shaanxi  province.

The School was honored as an “Excellent Group” for the Construction of Teaching Ethics inShaanxi. Four courses have been successively selected as Shaanxi provincial “quality courses”, namely Chinese Ancient Literature, Theory of Literature, and Ancient Chinese Language and Literature.

Adhering consistently to concept of modern university education, the school has focused its attention on cultivating the academic spirit, helping to mold the formation of a rigorous and realistic scholarly tradition and a pattern for training effective talents. Great efforts have been made to attach equal importance to theory and practice as well to tradition and innovation. To date, hundreds of talents have been nurtured. Hence the epithets “Research Center of Tang Literature” and “Cradle of Writers”

 

Contact us

School of Arts , Northwest University

Phone: 0086-29-88308216，0086-29-88308203